Wednesday, December 5, 2012

Homemade Kid's Cotton Pants

Well, I slipped up and didn't get around to posting the third pair of pants for a few days, but that's life.  I can make the pants, just not everyday.  These are the pants (or shorts) that I make most often for my kids.  This is a no pattern pants as well.  There is a bit of guess work for width and length, but I've never had a pair that didn't fit.

The fun thing about these pants is you can choose your kids' favorite character or color and make them pants that they will really love!  I usually make each of my kids at least one pair of pants each year with this method.  They are light weight, easy to scrunch up into a tiny ziploc for travelling purposes, and most often chosen from my kids' wardrobes.

To start, find a pair of your kids' pants that fit them now.  I usually try for something with a slightly wider leg and an elastic waist.  For a 5 year old and under, 1 yard of your desired fabric is good, for older, you need 1 1/4 - 1 1/2 yards of fabric.

Take the fabric and fold it in half width wise- right sides facing.  Turn the pants inside out, fold them in half along the crotch area, and lay them flat close to one side of the fabric. Trace, leaving about 1/2 " on the sides for the seam, 1 1/2 " on top for the waistband and another 1" on bottom for the hem.   Then flip them over and trace again-leaving the same allotments for waist and hem.
With right sides together, sew the curved inner seams of the front and back pieces, zigzag to finish the edges and help stop fraying.
Open up the front and back pieces and lay them on top of each other, right sides together.  Sew along the outer pant leg edge on both sides.  Use a zigzag afterwards for a nice finish.
Sew the inner leg/crotch together.  Make sure to go over the crotch area twice to make it stronger.
Iron down the top of the waistband about 1/4" all the way around and then again 1" to create the waist band.
Sew around the waistband and leave a 2 " opening for threading the elastic.
Thread in the elastic, then sew closed the opening on the waistband.  Hem pants to desired length.  When hemming, fold raw edge in about 1/4", then again to desired length.  Sew in place.  Pants are done!
Back:





Friday, November 30, 2012

Repurpose Your Pants to Girls' Leggings

Today's pants post is super easy!  In 30 minutes, from start to finish, you can have a new pair of leggings for your daughter!

Start by finding a pair of your pants you no longer fit into, like, want, etc.  If you just can't find something to get rid of, head to goodwill and buy a cheap pair of womens' stretch pants.
Lay your daughter's current sized leggings on top of the pants you are cutting up - outer leg edges lined up.  Trace around your daughter's pants, leaving a 1/4-1/2 " seam allowance and about 1 1/4" on the top for the waist band.  Here's the bonus of using a pair of pants for your fabric:  THEY ARE ALREADY HEMMED (I wish I could make this blink).  I raised my pants up about an inch from the hem, I wanted them to be a little longer, with room to grow.
Cut the piece out, flip the pants over and trace and cut out the other piece.  Follow the instructions from my tutorial yesterday to sew the pants together.  This is even easier because, like I said, no hemming!

Hazel wasn't too keen on the green color, so I had some sparkly pink tulle ruffle left over from the sequin skirt, so I attached that around the bottom of the leg, along with some Christmas ribbon (what a pain, the leg opening is so small and hard to maneuver in the machine, I think it would be easier to attach by hand.
End result:
Plenty of stretch for play:
The back:
Sneak peek for tomorrow:


Wednesday, November 28, 2012

DIY Girls' Leggings

A few weeks ago, I gave myself some time to go back on pinterest and peruse my favorite blogs.  I got sad by all the awesome stuff I saw people somehow finding the time to make that I could not.  The good thing was it got the wheels in my brain turning and kept my thoughts inspiring me.  I was particularly inspired by a series one blogger did for making kids' clothes and the challenge was to sew for one hour a day. I want to do that!

Now, that Christmas is about a month away, I want to devote more of my free time to my sewing machine.  I have heard my oldest son say three times recently how he loves the homemade gifts I've made him and that he especially loved that because I made them, I'd be less likely to throw them away and he could keep them longer.  I gave each of my kids a choice as to what homemade gift they'd like me to make them- this son:  a secret room (we'll see about that). There's some things they won't get a choice in like the clothes I am making them.

I was telling my sister how I wanted to do more homemade and I know from year's past, that I need to start early if I want to finish my projects on time and not be rushing and stressed out.  She was telling me the thing she'd like to make is pants for my niece.  This got me inspired to incorporate not only an hour of sewing a day, but a week's worth of pants tutorials.  Today I'm featuring a simple way to make girls' jersey knit leggings.

These leggings posted today are something I've been wanting to make FOREVER, but just never set aside the time.  They were super easy and I LOVE LOVE how they came out.  This pair of leggings was two pieces of fabric and took me 1 hour 5 minutes to make (I timed it)- that was with a few distractions from the kids along the way- best part?:  NO PATTERN!  Whenever I make pants, I usually do not use a pattern, but I usually have four pieces of fabric, so this was a little new for me and even easier than I could imagine.  I was inspired to use this method by a post on make it and love it blog.

To start off, get a piece of jersey knit fabric, about 1/2 yard if the print goes any which way (this was for a size 5/6) AND a pair of your daughter's leggings that currently fit.  Fold the fabric in on itself- just wide enough to lay the leggings on so you can trace them.
1) You want to place the leggings on the folded edge of the fabric- be sure to smooth them out and position them so the seams are flat.  Using a kids' washable marker, trace around the leggings, leave about 1/4-1/2" border for your seam.  On the bottom, you can leave more room if you want the leggings a bit longer and at the top, leave about 1 1/4" extra space, this is to make the waist band. (See the faint black line in photo 1 above- Also, the black pants are on the folded edge, for some reason, there was a piece of white paper under part of the fabric, so much for contrast.).

2) Cut out your first piece.  Fold the fabric in again.  Place the first cut out piece on the fold and cut out around it.  Now you have your two pieces and you are ready to sew!

3) Open the two cut pieces and lay them on top of each other, right sides together.

4) Sew along the curved edges on the right side and then on the left side.  You have now created the front and back seams.  Jersey fabric will not fray- so do not worry about serging.  I do not have a serger, but for extra strength, since kids are rough on their clothes.  I went along the first stitch again with a zigzag stitch.
OK, just realized that I numbered the second picture 1, 2, 3, 4 as well- that's what I get for writing this at 5:30 am.  So, I'll write the steps 1, 2, 3, 4 for this picture, just remember which picture you are following.
1) Open the pants up and lay them so the two seams you just sewed are on top of each other and you make a pants shape.  Lay flat and line up the inside pant legs.

2) Sew along the inside pants legs, then to reinforce the stitch since this is the crotch, go back over with a zig zag.

3) Iron up a hem on bottom, about 1/4", then stitch and zigzag here again.  You'll notice in some of my pictures, Hazel's looks a little ruffly.  I did my zigzag stitch right at the edge instead of 1/4" up and it gave it that ruffled look.

4) Iron the waistband edge down 1/4" and then fold down again 1".  Press.  This will create a closed clean edge for your waist band.  Sew along the lower edge of the waist band, but leave a 2" opening, so you can thread in the elastic waist band.
5) Measure your child's waist, cut a piece of elastic that size and thread it in through the waist band.  I have a giant plastic needle that I use to pull the elastic through, makes life much easier.  You can get those kid's crocheting needles at craft stores- I highly recommend it!  Slightly overlap the ends of the elastic, pin them, and sew back and forth over them to keep them together.  Pull the elastic back into the waistband and sew closed the opening that you pulled it through.  You are done!

The front:
The back:
These are not only fun to wear alone, but under skirts- yes I know she has matching issues, what can I say- she marches to the beat of her own drum!:
Plenty of stretch for hours of play:



Saturday, November 24, 2012

Homemade Sequin Skirt and Shirt

Hazel turned five last week!  As per tradition, I made her a birthday outfit.  It seems that sequins are the "in" thing this year.  I looked at skirts in stores, and some were upwards of $30.  I had to go to the fabric store before Halloween for costume fabric and I happened to pick up a 1/2 yard of hot pink sequins for about $4.50.  Using some leftover white cotton fabric and pink sparkle tulle for a ruffle, combined with  the sequin fabric, I was able to whip up a simple cute and slightly more elaborate skirt for her than the ones at the stores for a fraction of the price.

For the skirt, I used the full length of the fabric (about 44" for the sequins and the white lining each).  I measured from waist to knee and cut that length.  The sequin fabric will not fray, so I did not have to hem it and I was adding a tulle ruffle to the lining so I did not account for a hem. I sewed the edges of the sequin fabric together, then I did the same for the lining.  I sewed the ruffle to the lining and then I placed the lining inside of the sequin skirt so the right side of the lining was facing the wrong side of the sequin fabric.  I basted along the top edge of the fabrics to anchor them together (when basting, I used a long stitch and high tension, this caused the fabric to gather).   I pulled the thread to gather the waist to be the same length as the waist band I was going to make ~27".

I cut a waist band out of some dress lining I had lying around, it was 4" by 27".  I ironed the top down by .25" and then again another 1 ".  I sewed along the ironed edge of the original .25" fold.  This created a tube for me to thread the elastic through.  I measured her waist, and cut a piece of .5" elastic about .5 inches larger than my measurement.

I attached the waist band bottom to the right side top of the sequin fabric and sewed it on.  Flip up the waist band, top stitch along the sequin fabric edge.  For the final step, insert your elastic into the tube you created on the waistband, sew the ends of the elastic together, and then sewed closed the two ends of the waist band.  This took me about an hour from start to finish.

I used some leftover fabric to make a sequin "5" applique for her shirt.  The applique-ing process has become so easy for me since I discovered fusible web.  Using this stuff between the item you are applique-ing and the item you are applique-ing onto, makes pushing the fabric through the machine a breeze and the whole process a lot less stressful!   I got my pack at JoAnn Fabrics, so it's not something that's hard to find at all.
I hung up one of my new backdrops on the wall for her princess party.  I was excited to try it out.  I'm not sure she was:
Happy Birthday Hazel!

Friday, November 16, 2012

Homemade Oreo Ice Cream

I've been holding out.  I've made variations of this ice cream since the spring over and over again, but I have not posted the recipe.  It's not that I didn't want to, it's just that 1) the ice cream is so good, it does not last long enough to photograph, and 2) when I do have a bit of it hanging around, I don't have enough time to photograph it the way I'd like.

Tuesday was my daughter's birthday and she asked me to make her some ice cream.  I decided to take the new candycane oreos I bought and use them as a mix -in to my favorite vanilla ice cream recipe.  The result:  AWESOME (although I bet Trader Joe's Candy Candy Jo Jos would be incredible!).

I've been having a hard time finding time to do anything lately and this blog is something I enjoy to help me be me.  It seems as though I've let it fall by the wayside and I have TONS of things to share, so hopefully this will springboard me back in the swing of things.

If you get a chance to make this ice cream, it will work well on its own, or with a variety of mix ins, the key is to add the mix-ins at the very end of the ice cream churning process.

Treat yourself today- I know I am- (and tomorrow)!

Oreo Ice Cream-

1 vanilla bean (or 1 TBSP vanilla)
1 3/4 cups heavy cream
1 1/4 cups whole milk
1/2 cup plus 2 TBSP sugar
1/3 cup light corn syrup
1/4 tsp salt
6 egg yolks

1) Split vanilla bean lenghtwise, scrape out seeds.  Place vanilla bean pod, seeds, cream, milk, 1/4 cup plus 2 TBSP sugar, corn syrup, and salt in medium sauce pan.  Whisk, then heat to about 175' over medium heat.

2) Whisk egg yolks and remaining 1/4 cup sugar in medium bowl.  Set aside.

3) When cream mixture has reached 175', remove pan from heat- remove vanilla bean pod.  Slowly whisk 1 cup heated cream mixture into the bowl of the egg yolk mixture.  This is tempering the egg yolks.  Return this tempered egg yolk mixture back to the saucepan with the rest of the cream mixture.

4) Return the cream mixture to medium heat until it registers a temperature of about 180', the mixture will be slightly thickened like custard.  Place a fine mesh sieve over a medium bowl- pour the custard mixture through the sieve and collect in the bowl.  Let cool to room temp, then cover and refrigerate until completely cool, about 4 hours.

5) Remove custard from refrigerator.  Start your ice cream maker, pour custard in, and churn according to directions.  When the ice cream is beginning to firm up, before you stop the mixer, chop up the oreos into bite sized pieces and pour into ice cream maker for the last 30 seconds.  Transfer ice cream to air tight container and freeze before serving.

Source:  adapted from Cook's Illustrated Cookbook




Sunday, November 4, 2012

Halloween 2012

I can't believe it's November!  I just can't believe it!

This year, as usual, I told my kids that I would not buy them Halloween costumes.  It had to be something we already had or I would make it. (I'm embarrassed by the picture but this was the only chance to get them to stand still and the sun wouldn't cooperate).

I think Nathaniel was my favorite costume.  He dressed up as Addison.  He used the masks we made a few years ago, and wore all of Addison's clothes- admittedly, with a quick glance at the photo, you may actually mistake him for Addison.

Addison got a yoda costume for Christmas last year, so that was his choice.

Owen wanted to be a knight, a glorious silver, shiny knight, unfortunately, I just made him the chest piece and you can't use swords or shields at school.  He didn't mind not being all silver once I caved and bought the sword.  He forgot his black head covering at school, so his costume looks a little blah in the photo, but he has a sword so it's all good!

Hazel was a princess.  I was literally sewing her costume until five minutes before this photo.  The arm gauntlets still need the upper elastic, but she swore it was fine.

Maeve was a princess, the fabric for the body of her dress is still on the table waiting to be sewn, so she just wore the pettiskirt I made.  I love love love the pettiskirts.  I will post more about them later in the week when I get proper photos.

How was your Halloween?

More on this dress later in the week too:

Wednesday, October 24, 2012

Furniture Repurpose- Before and After

So, I refuse to buy furniture full price (except for couches).  I went to an antique store in town back in March.  I was looking for some type of a bench seat to put at the end of my bed for Dave to sit down on to put on socks in the morning.  When I got the shop, the owner brought me out back and directed me to this hideous long "coffee table"- had I not been perusing before and after furniture redo's online already, I would have snubbed my nose and walked away.  Instead, I asked how much- she said "$10", so out I walked with this UGLY thing:
It has literally sat in my garage for the past 7 months, collecting dust.  I finally decided to get it out and paint it before the cold weather settles in.  I started by having Dave take that ugly looking slider door off the front, then by putting on one coat of primer.  I use Benjamin Moore wall primer- I have a gallon of it- this is the fourth thing I've primed with it, and I'm still not even 1/3 way done, so it was worth the investment.

I let it sit over night to dry and the next day, I painted it with Benjamin Moore paint- Margarita was the color.  I only bought a pint, and for two coats, I had about 1/4 of the can left.

The original intent was to go at the foot of my bed, but Hazel cannot keep her stuff together, and judging by the way stuff was gathering in her room, she needed something in there to help her keep her stuff organized, don't you agree?
And the after.  I love the way this looks in here, don't you?
I am planning on making a pillow for the top of the bench so she can sit in read in comfort, but for now, I don't think she minds at all.
If you're looking for something to jazz up a room, or need something that serves a useful storage purpose, put down the Pottery Barn catalog and start looking around- you never know what removing a door or hardware, along with adding a fresh coat of colorful paint can do to a once ugly piece!

Wednesday, October 17, 2012

Flower Girl Dress for the Baby


Lately, if I have a free second, all I've been doing is looking at sewing blogs.  More specifically, children's clothing sewing blogs.  I haven't used my sewing machine much lately, or much this year at all.  It makes me sad.  I have a big bag of my old clothes to turn into clothes for my girls.  I have a lot of fabric too, waiting to serve its purpose-if I ever find the time.  Time is part of the reason, the other reason is that I just need a new sewing machine.

One of my New Year's Resolutions was to make an article of clothing a month.  I do actually think I have stuck with it- I just then don't have the time to get around to photographing and posting the pieces I've made.  I was going through my photos and came across this dress that I did make for the baby to be a flower girl at our friends' wedding.  When a pressing need arises, I can always find time to sew (mostly late late night though).

The wedding invitations had shades of raspberry and a firefly on them (possibly a dandelion)- all I know is as soon as I found out we were bringing the flower girl, I knew the perfect fabric for the dress. I don't know why, but I'm loving yellow and grey lately!  I bought some lace with a little bit of sparkle at JoAnn fabrics to make the dress a bit more fancy:
I thought the sash added a nice bit of contrast, don't you?
Surprisingly, this little girl actually cooperated and walked down the aisle with the flowers, except, she didn't really throw them out.
That is, until later:
Being a flower girl (and the star dancer) is really exhausting:
She is growing up too fast!
Pattern for the dress: adapted from Bananafana Tea Party Twirl

Friday, October 12, 2012

Fun with Photography

My photo club hosts a monthly challenge to help us pick up the camera every month and try something new. This month, the challenge was two photographers, one photo.  My friend and I got together a lot and had many ideas as to what we wanted to try.  In the end, we were inspired by a photo similar to the one below that we randomly found online.  We decided to recreate the photo ourselves, and this is what we came up with:
How fun is this?

Monday, October 8, 2012

How Paleo Has Changed Me

So, today was the official end of the Paleo Challenge I was doing with my CrossFit gym.  In case you were wondering, Paleo is not Atkins.  It is a lifestyle, it is not a diet.  It involves eating fresh available foods that you can essentially hunt and gather, such as meats, fruits, vegetables, nuts, and seeds.  There is not supposed to be any dairy because it is thought that the only dairy you should consume is mother's milk and after that, calcium can come from other things, such as leafy greens.  The dairy industry is a mess and how they process and treat milk is sick and yes, I like milk in my coffee and I like ice cream, but if you are going to eat or consume it, you should be using organic, raw, original form (ie heavy cream).

For four weeks, I had to log my food intake everyday.  I would lose ten points if I did not consume three servings of fruit and three servings of vegetables a day.  This was one thing I had been seriously lacking before.  The big thing is you need to figure out what a serving is, so you don't have to worry that you need to eat three apples for three servings, a big apple is 2 servings.  I could gain two extra points a day for taking fish oil, so I started taking fish oil, something I will continue.  I also could gain three points a day if I did crossfit, running, or heavy stretching.  I made sure to get those three bonus points every day.  There were points to lose for cheating too.  I tried very very hard not to cheat.  Almost everyday, I lost a point for milk in my coffee.  There were days when I lost some for sugar in my coffee too.  Besides that, I had two major cheats, one I ate six nacho chips at one of my kids' friends' houses and two, I made scones and ate them because after the first week, I panicked and worried that after four weeks of no grains, I would develop a reaction to wheat (and I just can't ever in my life give up pizza for good).

Here's some statistics:
Starting weight:  115lb, Ending weight:  113.4 lb
I lost 1/2 inch in my waist, 3/4 inch in my biceps and thighs, and the biggie:   3.5 inches in my hips!!! I dropped two pant sizes!!!

How do I feel?  I feel great!  Nothing feels better that jeans that fit right and don't feel tight in certain places.  I have more energy and definitely feel less tired.  I have been less sore after workouts and more energetic during them.

We had to do three workouts before and after the challenge.
1) 5-4-3-2-1 500m row, 400m run, 30 air squats, 20 push ups, 10 pull ups
At the start, my time was 5:56.  At the end, my time was 5:35 and I used less of a step to get up to the pull up bar, so they were harder.  I know this is due to paleo because I did the 54321 my first day of crossfit back in August, and my time was 5:55

2) Grace, a standard crossfit workout, 30 clean and jerk with a weight you can do in under 5 minutes.
At the start, my weight was 55lb and my time was 2:39.  Today, I used 65 lb and did it in 2:51.  I felt more confident and the weight felt much easier, even with the 10 extra pounds.

3) Take a 5 minute rest then run the mile (after completing Grace). At the start, my time was 6:09.  At the end, my time was 6:04.  Today the weather was 32'.  I feel disappointed, I wish I ran 5:45, but in the dark, cold, and running alone, I'll take it.
Throughout the challenge, I was joking that I was going to smash my face into a cake when I was done, but seeing the results I got physically and mentally, I don't want to go back to eating the way I was.

Onto how I was eating, I was eating good, so to speak.  I already incorporate a lot of homemade fresh food into our diet.  We do not eat out that much, and most things are from scratch.  I try to shop the perimeter of the grocery store.  One big thing I realized was that I was NOT eating enough fruits and vegetables.  I was maybe eating 1 serving of fruit and 1 vegetable a day.  This is a change that will be permanent for me.

As for dairy.  I have switched to using whole organic milk in my coffee.  I switched my kids to two glasses a day, they get more from broccoli, cheese, yogurt, etc.  I make my own ice cream and I just bought a kit to make my own cheese.  If I'm going to be consuming these things, at least, I will know where they are coming from.

As for grains, I do enjoy pizza, and of course baked goods.  I pledged to no longer buy store bought bread, and even made homemade tortillas for my husband yesterday.  It's going to be more time consuming but I consider it an even trade for adding more time to my family's life span.  I will be using almond flour and coconut flour more often in baked goods and I will cut back my consumption of them to one or two days a week.

I ate bacon and/or sausage and eggs for breakfast almost everyday and still lost 3.5 inches in my hips.

I will be more cognizant of the amount of protein I need to eat to keep my body running healthy, approximately 1 g for every 1 lb of ideal body weight.

Maybe you think paleo isnt for you, but I hope I can inspire you to try to eat healthier, even if it is in baby steps.  Start by making more things from scratch, you'll find it's easier than you think, healthier, and more cost effective.  Be selective about the foods you buy.  Look at the ingredient list, are there words on the list you don't recognize?  Maybe you shouldn't be eating that.  Also, organic can be expensive, be selective, anything that you will be eating the skin (apple) try to buy organic.  If the organic is too expensive, buy the regular, wash extra good.  Consider that the cheaper fruit probably cost about as much as a candy bar, will taste better, make you feel better, and keep you healthier.  It is sad that fast food is so prominent and seems so cheap,  but there is another side to that and that is your health.  How much do you pay for health insurance and copayments and prescriptions?

I have a friend who teaches my bootcamp class, he said at one point he was on 11 prescriptions, now he is not on any.  He is 42, superfit and almost 100% paleo.  A friend of mine from the crossfit gym lost 11.5 lb, 3.5 inches from the waist, dropped about 45 seconds in his mile time, almost a minute off his grace time, and is wearing a smaller pant size than he has in 20 years.  One of the coaches at the gym has lost over 67 pounds so far with cross fit and paleo and he said his cholesterol has dropped by 40 points.

Note:  This was not all a walk in the park.  I read lots of cupcake and cake recipes and daydreamed about eating them, and yes, I still will eat them occasionally, but everything in moderation.  There were days when there was not enough time to cook all the rest of the veggies I needed and make dinner for the rest of the family too, so they suffered and were stuck with frozen pizza or fishsticks and french fries.  The grocery bill went up, I was eating more than a serving of the veggies, and not shopping properly for the local in season produce.  I was not eating enough protein at first and felt sick during a running race.  Getting used to eating meat for breakfast was weird, but then you get hungry and it's sooo good.  Finding the time to go through recipes and determine what I can and can't have, how to modify them, that all takes time and time is rare around here.  But doing this in a group setting and having the support, made all the difference.


Here are two websites that helped me through this:
paleomg.com-  for the recipes, sometimes you need a little pick me up, like muffins or waffles
marks daily apple- great resource, lots of stories and recipes- I read his book too, The Primal Blueprint


We all make choices and I'm not telling you to go 100% paleo, but I'm telling you after having done it, I can tell you that eating healthy and properly will make a huge impact not only on your body, but how you feel.  This is a lifestyle that will give you results and fast and they are sustainable.
You are never too old to start taking care of yourself.  I am 36 and I have 5 kids- I'm stronger now than I ever was because I take care of myself.


Friday, October 5, 2012

Paleo Pumpkin Waffles

So, It's been 3 and 1/2 weeks and I'm still sticking to my paleo challenge.  I've had a few small mishaps (on purpose, like milk in my coffee, some things a mom just can't knock), but I am feeling energetic, strong, less hungry, and just great!  I can't wait until next Monday to see how my workout compares to four weeks ago.  I'm excited to see how much my body has changed too- with the before and after photos.

When I started this challenge, I was worried about what I was going to eat, then I reminded myself of all the things I enjoy cooking.  I also remembered I'm getting good and crafty with spices, so creating meat and veggie dishes that are enjoyable to me was not difficult.  The one thing I knew I would struggle with was baked goods.  Luckily, a member of my crossfit gym pointed me to the blog paleomg.  She has lots of muffin and cake recipes that are gluten, dairy, and sugar free.  The ones I have tried have been pretty decent, but my absolute favorite find, which will be a keeper once I'm not 100% paleo, and it is these waffles!

Seriously, try them, you'll love them.  If you are thinking about being more healthy and trying to be gluten free or just want a new breakfast treat, whip these up, they're easy and tasty!

Pumpkin Waffles:

3/4 cup almond flour
1/2 cup pumpkin puree
1/2 cup shredded unsweetened coconut
1/4 cup coconut milk
2 TBSP pure maple syrup
2 eggs
1/4 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1/4 tsp ginger
1 TBSP vanilla

1) Plug in waffle iron and preheat.

2) Whisk together almond flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, and ginger in medium bowl, set aside.

3) In medium bowl, whisk together coconut milk, maple syrup, eggs, pumpkin puree, and vanilla.

4) Fold wet ingredients into dry ingredients.  Cook according to your waffle iron directions.  I made about 3 and 1/2 belgian sized waffles.

5) Serve with fresh fruit and maybe a drizzle of pure maple syrup. YUM!
source:  Paleomg